With Mike Chambers (lower body injury) on the I.R. a while longer with a lower body injury, I again filled in for him on the DU lacrosse beat Saturday, covering Marquette’s monumental upset of the Pioneers in the Big East Conference tournament championship game.

Borgstrom, a junior star from Finland, is Central Scouting’s ninth-ranked European skater eligible for the upcoming NHL draft. McLellan is the son of Edmonton Oilers coach Todd McLellan and Fear goes 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds.

“These young men are great additions to our program and we’re thrilled they’ve decided to come to Denver,” Montgomery said in a release. “Henrik is a highly-skilled center with great size who is expected to be taken early in this summer’s NHL Draft and will be a strong presence up the middle for us. Erich is a tenacious defender with tremendous physical attributes that we believe will be a great fit on our blue line and has the potential to be a shutdown defenseman in the mold of Josiah Didier (Class of 2015). Tyson is an extremely intelligent forward that will also fit in well with the culture we’ve created here and will be able to play solid, Denver-style hockey right away for us. All three student-athletes add to our impressive depth – both up front and on the back end – and we’re looking forward to having them in Crimson & Gold next season.”

ST. PAUL, Minn — At the NCAA West Regional Saturday, when Ferris State beat St. Cloud State in overtime and Denver routed Boston University, attendance for the single-ticket semifinal doubleheader was announced as 4,926.

There weren’t nearly that “many” around during the second game to see the Pioneers romp. My eyeball estimate was 1,500. The vast majority of even that small official figure was St. Cloud State fans, who — if they came in from the school’s home city — traveled about 75 miles and left after the first game.

With the Huskies out, the DU-Ferris State is being played in front of another intimate gathering, as you can see from the above photo.

I’ve made it a practice to never try to tell anyone how to spend their entertainment dollars, so this is not an indignant rant about how these teams deserve better and the public has let them down, whether that’s taken to mean the Twin Cities hockey constituency or anyone else.

For a short-notice trip, it would have been a 900-mile drive from Denver or an airline ticket, and about a 650-mile trip from Big Rapids, Michigan — the home of Ferris State. (No, me neither … until yesterday.)

The awarding/slotting this regional to St. Paul obviously came with the hope that the University of Minnesota Gophers would make the tournament and could be assigned here.

They didn’t and weren’t.

Even having North Dakota here (instead of Cincinnati) would have led to many fans of the former Fighting Sioux to come to St. Paul.

But this all is fueling the argument that the four separate four-team regionals should be held at campus arenas, at the homes of the No. 1 seeds in each region. Or even that both of the first round and quarterfinals should be played at the home of the higher seed, before feeding into the Frozen Four.

It’s “unfair,” but it makes both economic and, well, artistic sense. It just doesn’t feel right to see games with so much on the line played in front of a crowd that, if you didn’t know better, was settling in 15 minutes before the warmup. Yes, in this case, four-team regionals would have been at St. Cloud State, Quninnipiac (Hamden, Conn.), Providence, and North Dakota (Grand Forks).

Saturday, I asked several Pioneers and DU coach Jim Montgomery if it was hard to play such a big game in front of such a small crowd. The players’ answers were pretty much the same as their coach’s, so I’ll let Montgomery speak for them.

“You know what, no,” he said. “Would you like to have a packed house? Yes. But really when you’re dialed in, your’re focused and you’re committed to each other and there’s an NCAA championship you’re playing for. It doesn’t matter, you could be playing in Siberia.”

The University of Denver men’s soccer team poses after winning the Summit League Championships over Oral Roberts, 2-0, on Nov. 14, 2015. (Provided by University of Denver)

The undefeated Denver Pioneers men’s soccer team received a first-round bye in the NCAA Division I tournament, which was released Monday.

Denver (15-0-3) received the No. 13 seed. The Pioneers will play 5 p.m. Sunday at home against the winner of SMU and Utah Valley. Tickets for the game can be found at denverpioneers.com.

“I think the guys deserve the NCAA Tournament bye and home game,” head coach Jamie Franks said in a news release. “We haven’t lost this season, we’re focused, we’re prepared and we’re healthy, and I’m just excited for the guys to be able to compete at this level again. This is what we’ve been preparing for the last 10 months.”

DU is the only unbeaten team remaining in the nation. The team is also on a 29-match home unbeaten streak, the longest active one in the country and 11th longest in NCAA history.

We’ll have a nice feature on Denver freshman Troy Terry on Friday. Terry is a 2015 Anaheim Ducks draftee who is playing right wing on the Pioneers’ second line, centered by senior Quentin Shore. Terry and Shore both played youth hockey for the Littleton Hawks and Colorado Thunderbirds before joining the American all-star institution in Ann Arbor, Mich.

COLLEGE HOCKEY PREVIEW/Nov. 6-7

Colorado College (0-8, 0-2 National Collegiate Hockey Conference) vs. Denver (3-3, 0-0 NCHC)What: NCHC two-game seriesWhen/where: Friday (7:35 Magness Arena) and Saturday (7 p.m. Broadmoor World Arena)TV/Radio: Root (Friday only)/1600 AMNotes: Denver won all four games last season to reclaim the Gold Pan. Overall, the Pioneers lead the all-time series 165-116-17, played since 1949. … DU is 3-0 at home; CC is 0-6. … Pioneers junior goalie Evan Cowley is scheduled to start Friday, and may also get the nod in the finale. … DU sophomore forward Danton Heinen has nine points (five goals) in four career games against CC. … Dating to last season, the Tigers are on an 11-game losing streak. … DU sophomore Brad Hawkinson of Aurora might miss the series because of injury. … Denver has lost each of its games in overtime (two) or the last minute of regulation (at Boston College)

Coach Jim Montgomery and his University of Denver Pioneers (1-1) host the Michigan State Spartans (1-0-1) in a nonconference hockey series Friday and Saturday at Magness Arena.

DU is coming off a home-and-home series split with Air Force, losing 5-4 in overtime on opening night at the Academy before winning 3-1 in its home opener in Denver. Michigan State tied Maine 3-3 and beat Lake Superior State 4-1 last weekend in Portland, Maine.

“The focus is getting better, guys getting more comfortable playing Denver hockey and players asserting themselves in new roles,” said Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery, who is beginning his third season. “With exception of about seven players on our team, everyone else is trying to find roles this year.”

The Spartans are led by senior goalie Jake Hildebrand, a 5-foot-11 four-year starter. From Butler, Pa., Hildebrand went 9-17-2 (.928 save percentage) as a freshman, 9-15-7 (.923) as a sophomore and 17-16-2 (.930) last season on poor or average teams. MSU continues to rebuild under fifth-year coach Tom Anastos.

“Quality hockey team,” Montgomery said of the Spartans. “They have very dangerous forwards and an elite goaltender who is probably going into the year as one of the top three goaltenders — if not the top goaltender — in the country.”

Montgomery said 6-5 junior goalie Evan Cowley will likely start Friday (7:30 p.m. start) and 5-11 sophomore Tanner Jaillet will protect the nets Saturday (7 p.m.). Last weekend, as well as most of last season, Cowley was the Game 2 starter, but Montgomery is switching it up because Cowley doesn’t have classes Friday and will participate in the morning skate. Jaillet’s classes will prevent him from seeing pucks at the Friday morning skate.

Ex-Regis High hoops standout Dan Ficke is back in Colorado as University of Denver assistant (photo courtesy Ficke family).

Former Regis Jesuit High basketball standout Dan Ficke, who played for Loyola of Maryland, then served as an assistant coach at Wake Forest and then back at Loyola, recently returned to his hometown as one of Joe Scott’s assistants at the University of Denver.

His last name is familiar in Colorado basketball and sports circles, in part because his father, Bill Ficke, is a former Nuggets assistant under Doug Moe; once owned Fleet Feet, an ahead-of-its-time athletic shoe store; and for years has been owner of Big Bill’s New York Pizza in Centennial.

Dan also is president of the JoAnn B. Ficke Cancer Foundation, which honors his mother (and Bill’s wife). JoAnn died of cancer in 2007 and Bill and Dan formed the foundation in 2009.

Friday’s annual 9/11 “Day of Giving” at Big Bill’s involves customers not getting bills, but making donations to the JoAnn B. Ficke Foundation. After the contributions are tallied, Dan annually presents checks to various Colorado cancer organizations in a ceremony at Big Bill’s. Since 2009, the total is about $715,000.

The 9/11 “Day of Giving” actually originated as a way to raise money for charities to honor victims and first responders of the 2001 World Trade Center terrorist attacks. After JoAnn’s death and the formation of the foundation, the money raised has gone to the foundation and then doled out to cancer causes.

For background, here’s a piece I once did on Bill and JoAnn: Read more…

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Matt Graham (1) of the Brown defends Jack Bobzien (11) of the Denver during the first half of action. The University of Denver hosted Brown on May 10, 2015. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

University of Denver senior Jack Bobzien, who lost his starting attack position after undergoing an emergency appendectomy last spring, is poised to play a big role for the defending NCAA champions this season. The Arapahoe High School product on Wednesday was named one of three captains for the Pioneers, along with junior midfielder Tyler Pace and junior defenseman Christian Burgdorf.

Bobzien is set to return to his starting attack role — primarily the quarterback behind the goal — along with junior Zach Miller, a two-year starter, and 2015 leading scorer Connor Cannizzaro, also a junior. DU returns three of its top four scorers in Cannizzaro, Miller and Pace, and two of three defensemen in Burgdorf and Pat Karole. The Pioneers graduated attack/midfield starters Wes Berg, Sean Cannizzaro and Erik Adamson plus defenseman Carson Cannon and goalie Ryan LaPlante.

“Jack, Christian and Tyler have big shoes to fill, but our coaching staff and team feel like they will successfully demonstrate the leadership, dedication and selfless qualities needed for the Pioneers to maintain our status in Division I lacrosse,” DU coach Bill Tierney said in a release. “On the field, all three were extremely instrumental in our national championship run last spring, but their off-the-field and locker room presence is what gives us such confidence in them. These three, plus an experienced and focused Class of 2016 are looking forward to leading the Pioneers to another exciting season.”

Footnote: Tierney enters his seventh DU season in 2016 after not only leading Denver to its first National Championship in 2015, but also becoming the first NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Division I head coach to win national championships at two schools. He has an NCAA-record seven national titles, six with Princeton.

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University of Denver gymnastics coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart talks to her team in practice ahead of a meet in Ames, Iowa, for the NCAA regional competition on Saturday. The team works out at Magness Arena on DU’s campus on March 31, 2015. (Kathryn Scott Osler,The Denver Post)

The University of Denver is joining the Big 12 for women’s gymnastics beginning in 2016, the school announced Wednesday.

DU was in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference for the past two seasons, winning the conference title in 2014.

“We are excited to be joining the Big 12 Conference,” head coach Melissa Kutcher-Rinehart said in a statement. “The opportunity to participate with competitive student-athletes, coaches and teams is an honor.”

Denver’s Wesley Berg (14) celebrates his goal against Maryland during the second half of the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse championship, Monday, May 25, 2015, in Philadelphia. Denver defeated Maryland 10-5. (Rich Schultz, The Associated Press)

After winning the NCAA championship in men’s lacrosse and a strong showing from the ice hockey team, the Denver Pioneers finished fifth in the 2014-15 Capital One Men’s Cup standings for the best Division I college athletics program.

More celebration is in store for the national champion Denver Pioneers men’s lacrosse team.

The team is going to be honored during halftime of Friday’s Denver Outlaws game against the Ohio Machine at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

It will be an added bonus for NCAA tournament most outstanding player Wesley Berg, who will be making his debut with the Outlaws that night.

The game is set to start at 7 p.m. Fans who want to take a picture with the Outlaws’ Steinfeld Trophy or the Pioneers’ NCAA Championship trophy can visit section 105 in the first quarter and the first half of the second.

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DU’s Nolan Zajac tries to get around Rensselaer’s Mike Prapavessis during the second period Saturday night at Magness Arena. (Brent Lewis, The Denver Post)

The University of Denver will kick off the college hockey season as it hosts the 2016 Ice Breaker Tournament, which takes place Oct. 7-8 at Magness Arena.

Joining the Pioneers in the tournament are Air Force, Boston College and Ohio State. Denver won the tournament when the Pioneers last hosted the event in 1999, the year Magness Arena opened.

“This tournament is one of the top showcase events for college hockey in the country and we’re thrilled that our great fans will again have the opportunity to experience it firsthand,” Denver coach Jim Montgomery said in a news release from the school.

The University of Maine will host the tournament in 2015. Minnesota won in 2014. Tickets information will be announced by DU in the future.

Cretin-Derham Hall’s Joe Rosga drives to the basket against Bettendorf’s (Iowa) Nicholas Baer in the second half of their matchup as Bettendorf won 71-66 in the 2014 Minnesota Timberwolves Shootout at Target Center on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. (Scott Takushi, Pioneer Press)

Joe Rosga, a 6-foot-3 senior guard at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minn., thought he was headed to play basketball at Army.

Now, Rosga will be a University of Denver Pioneer. DU announced Monday that he signed a national letter of intent with the school.

Rosga had committed to Army but it was discovered last month that an undisclosed medical issue will prevent him from being accepted into West Point. Rosga reopened his recruitment on April 20.

According to his mother, Rosga is fully cleared to play basketball. He earned second-team all-Minnesota honors by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer-Press this spring after averaging 19.1 points, 4.2 assists and 4.1 rebounds.

Notwithstanding lightning, a tornado or other dangerous situations Mother Nature can produce, the NCAA Tournament lacrosse game between Brown and the University of Denver will take place Sunday, beginning at 1 p.m. at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium (ESPNU).

The Denver-area forecast is gloomy, with 3-6 inches of snow expected Saturday night through Sunday morning, with high temperatures in the 30s. Barton’s field will be wet, but it’s artificial turf with state-of-the-art draining. The cold temps and visibility issues could be the real problems and give the Bears (12-4) a better chance at upsetting the Pioneers (13-2), who are my pick to reach the May 25 national championship game in Philadelphia.

Sunday’s paper and online will have a story looking at why Denver — which is on a nine-game winning streak and in full-fledged beast mode since losing at Ohio State on March 14 — will advance to its first national title game. But I reported and wrote the story based on average playing conditions, and certainly, Sunday’s game might be determined by which team better handles the inclement weather.

The winner faces Duke or Ohio State next Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, host of the two quarterfinal games. The Blue Devils and Buckeyes play at 5:30 p.m. MT Saturday.

Denver is simply a team that won’t lose by playing its game. The Pioneers have the country’s best faceoff guy in freshman Trevor Baptiste and an extremely talented and patient offense, led by the school’s all-time leading scorer (senior Wes Berg) and the single-season scoring leader (sophomore Connor Cannizzaro). If those two struggle, sophomores Zach Miller and Tyler Pace, junior Jack Bobzien and senior Erik Adamson are each capable of being the go-to guys. As I wrote in Sunday’s story, Baptiste is the best faceoff man legendary coach Bill Tierney has ever coached and the offense is Tierney’s best in six years at Denver. Senior goalie Ryan LaPlante is DU’s all-time leader in wins and saves, and Christian Burgdorf, Carson Cannon and Pat Karole are special defensemen. I’m telling you, this is the Pioneers’ year.

DU will roll over Brown if it contains Bears’ standout Dylan Molloy, a sophomore attackman who has 59 goals and leads the country in goals-per-game (3.69). Molloy was a unanimous first team All-Ivy League selection along with junior goalie Jack Kelly.

“He is big, strong and would just-as-soon run you over as running around you,” Tierney said of Molloy. “He’s a slick player. He’s got power, he can shoot it and has become a really good feeder.”

Brown is not a possession team. The Bears like to play fast. “We have to stop their transition game, their quick-strike offense,” Tierney said. “There’s no going to be many long possessions on their part. They shove it down your throat, basically. They want to have a volume of shots and a fast-paced game. They want it to be at break-neck speed. Part of their transition is, they have a great goalie.”

DU plays the opposite. The Pioneers want to dominate possession, and with Baptiste and the offense that doesn’t turn it over much, they usually do just that. “We want to take the best shot, not the first shot,” Tierney said.

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Denver Wesley Berg (14) looks for an open teammate during the fourth quarter Friday, April 3, 2015 at Peter Barton Stadium on the campus of University of Denver in Denver. (Brent Lewis, The Denver Post)

Denver Pioneers attackman Wesley Berg has been named one of the five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award for the most outstanding American college lacrosse player, the school announced Thursday.

The other finalists include Duke’s Myles Jones, Notre Dame’s Matt Kavanagh, Syarcuse’s Kevin Rice and Albany’s Lyle Thompson. Berg is the first Pioneer to be selected as a finalist.

“Wesley Berg is the epitome of the type of student-athlete we have been blessed with here at the University of Denver,” Denver coach Bill Tierney said in a release from the school.

Berg has tallied 43 goals and 17 assists this season, leading the Pioneers to a 13-2 record going into the NCAA Tournament. Denver will face Brown in the first round at 1 p.m. Sunday.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Last week in Calgary, former Boston College star Johnny Gaudreau and former University of Denver standout Joe Colborne made a bet between Flames teammates. Gaudreau, the 2014 Hobey Baker Award winner who had three goals and six points in BC’s 6-2 win over DU in last year’s NCAA Tournament, took his Eagles.

DU coach Jim Montgomery, who coached Gaudreau in juniors, is excited to see Johnny Hockey in a crimson and gold sweater with “DENVER” across the chest.

“Because of a real good Pios alum, ‘Jumbo’ Joe Colborne, I can’t wait to watch a former player that I coached, John Gaudreau — Johnny Hockey — wear a Pioneer jersey, as he lost his bet,” Montgomery said while opening his postgame press conference.

Denver Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery is a no-nonsense type of guy. But he thinks it’s nonsense that come college hockey folks don’t think senior defenseman Joey LaLeggia is one of the top three players in the country. Montgomery knows much about the Hobey Baker Award, and how character, teamwork and sportsmanship factor in. He helped Maine linemate Paul Kariya become the only freshman to win it in 1993 and believes LaLeggia is the ideal candidate this year.

“I don’t think Joey LaLeggia gets enough credit for how dominant a player he’s been this year,” Montgomery said. “To me, he’s undeniably a Hobey Hat Trick finalist. He’s the most dominant player in the best conference in college hockey, and as a defenseman he leads the conference in scoring. I think he’s being overlooked because most of his great plays are happening when most people are asleep on the East Coast.”

LaLeggia, a 2012 Edmonton Oilers’ draftee, leads the National Collegiate Hockey Conference in scoring, with 29 points (12 goals) in 22 league games. In overall scoring, LaLeggia is third (35 points in 31 games) behind teammates Danton Heinen and Trevor Moore. The NCHC has five of the top eight teams in the PairWise Rankings.Read more…

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Here’s a list of 2015 and 2016 University of Denver hockey recruits. The five 2015 guys deserve more mention, more information, and I hope to add that in the next week.

Dylan Gambrell, F, Bonney Lake, Wash.
— Played for Angelo Ricci and the Colorado Thunderbirds, now with Dubuque of USHL. Member of USA’s World Junior A Challenge Team that won gold in the fall, and played in USHL Top Prospects Game. Committed to DU and scheduled to sign this spring.

Blake Hillman, D, Elk River, Minn.
— Playing his second year at Dubuque of USHL and joined Gabrell at USHL Top Prospects Game. Committed to DU and scheduled to sign this pring.

Logan O’Connor, F, Calgary, Alberta
— Captain of Sioux Falls of the USHL, his second year there. Pegged as a very good four-year player. Signed his NLI with DU last fall.

Jarid Lukosevicius, F, Squamish, B.C.
— In his second year with the Powell River Kings of BCHL, currently third among league scorers. Signed his NLI with DU last fall.

Troy Terry, F, Highlands Ranch
— Played for Angelo Ricci’s U16 Colorado Thunderbirds and now with the USNDP, doing very well. On track to accelerate and join DU this fall.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.